CA - Just got a speeding ticket... Help!

[ZippZone]

What is the name of your state? CA (southern california)

well, its my first speeding ticket ever and i am seeking for all your help please... (southern california area)

i was driving home from local shop and just made a left turn to this street. after the turn, i accerlated a bit fast and was not aware the
cop was hiding in a parking lot. as soon as i passed the cop on my right, i knew it, he quickly put in drive and turned on his lights.
i pulled over and you know the rest... after couple minutes of waiting, he handed me a ticket with 22350 cvc unsafe speed
(40+ at 30 mph zone) and 26708 tinted windows... on the ticket, the officer wrote he clocked me on radar but i did not want to argue
with him, therefore i did not ask him to show me the radar in his car, (does this mean i lost the chance to see it again?)

(note: i do have the valentine1 radar detector operated full time but i dont know why it didnt pick up. the officer even asked me if the v1 picked up the signal then smiled... weird? also, why did the officer put down 40"+" instead of 4# like 45 or something?)

the court date is on the first week of july and i dont know what to do now. i think i was driving in the 40 mph zone not 30 mph.
again, whats the best way to get out of this without any point on my record. i know for sure i need to remove the tint on the
front windows but should i request a trial for the speeding?

(what to do? i might get the court date extended that way i dont have to remove the tint that soon. or i can just pay for the fine? hopefully i dont need to remove the tint then retint hassel. and lastly, i need to check the speed limit where he cited the ticket, hopefully its 40mph zone, then i will be dismissed for the ticket? anyone know? )

all comments and suggestions are welcome... please help me... thank you all!



6/30 update

just an update...

this is actually in the 35 zone
he wrote me 40+ in 30 but actually 35 zone

also, the location on the ticket is wrong
door # 27300 but actually he was at 27411

if i do the writeen declaration, will i win?
what information do i need to include?

thanks!

[Crazed98]

No the officer would not have let you look at his radar.

Radar detector do not always pick up especially from the side or behind. He could have also been using laser instead of k band or ka band.

Pay the ticket for the tint and go to court and talk to the prosecutor to see if he/she will let you off with just the fine and no points.

[lwpat]

Your first court date is only an arraignment which you can skip by entering a not guilty plea or either requesting a Trail by Declaration. If it is actually a 40mph zone you need to do a discovery on the speed survey and then use it in your TBD.

Per the other poster you have no right to see the readout on the radar and even then just his visual estimation will hold up in court.

You probably should opt for traffic school and keep the ticket off your record. Her is a link for more information.

[url]http://www.trafficschoolonline.com/?lcode=4013[/url]

[Labtec600]

Sorry your $200 dollar radar detector didnt pick up his $2000 dollar radar.

[ZippZone]

6/30 update

please help...

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by ZippZone

on the ticket, the officer wrote he clocked me on radar but i did not want to argue
with him, therefore i did not ask him to show me the radar in his car, (does this mean i lost the chance to see it again?)

You never had a right to see it in the first place. He might have been willing to show it to you, but he was under no obligation to do so.

(note: i do have the valentine1 radar detector operated full time but i dont know why it didnt pick up. the officer even asked me if the v1 picked up the signal then smiled... weird? also, why did the officer put down 40"+" instead of 4# like 45 or something?)

Perhaps because his visual estimation was higher than 40, and his radar lock was at 40 ... I dunno.

As for the query about the V1, it could be that he was curious whether whatever mode he was operating in was picked up by the detector or not ... and maybe he was using Lidar.

the court date is on the first week of july and i dont know what to do now. i think i was driving in the 40 mph zone not 30 mph.
again, whats the best way to get out of this without any point on my record. i know for sure i need to remove the tint on the
front windows but should i request a trial for the speeding?

The "best" way to avoid points is to attend traffic school. If you waish to fight it, keep in mind that traffic school is usually not an option if you lose.

If you believe you were in a 35 zone when you were tagged at 40, you were still technically speeding. If you were in a 40, then I would suggest getting photos of the signage indicating this so you can have them at trial.

(what to do? i might get the court date extended that way i dont have to remove the tint that soon. or i can just pay for the fine?

If you fail to correct the violation, you can be cited again for that AND an additional violation that will be much more costly. And if you do the remove and then replace bit, you better hope you don't get caught again, because the court could tag you even higher for the subsequent violation.

But, it's your wallet.

also, the location on the ticket is wrong
door # 27300 but actually he was at 27411

The actual address of where he was sitting will not likely be an issue.

if i do the writeen declaration, will i win?

Nobody can say.

what information do i need to include?

Details of the location, your estimate of speed, etc.

Keep in mind that you will not be able to cross examine any of the officer's claims in a written declaration, so you will simply be stating your piece. And an admission of exceeding the speed limit of 40 in a 35 ... well, that may be enough to find you guilty.

- Carl

[Pugilist]

Fight the ticket. You have an excellent chance the officer will not show up for the trial. If he doesn't, you win, automatically. (Every time someone posts this advice, one of the cops on the board replies that they - the cops -ALWAYS show up for trials, almost 100% of the time. You can kind of understand why cops would want the public to believe that. Their actual attendance record is abysmal, below 50%. Now your head is spinning and you do not know who to believe. To find the truth, go out to the traffic court on a trial day and observe...)

There is a good defense on radar tickets. Has to do with the "speed survey" mentioned by lwpat. Too complicated to explain it here. But there are easy to read books about it, available at your local library. Just ask the reference librarian for how to fight your ticket. He or she will have the book right at the desk.

I also suggest that you go ahead and request the 60-day extension. You can do it in person, by phone, or by mail if you can get a certified letter, with return receipt requested, into the mail at least 3 calendar days before the "appear by" date written on the bottom of your ticket.

Good luck.

Pugilist

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by Pugilist

(Every time someone posts this advice, one of the cops on the board replies that they - the cops -ALWAYS show up for trials, almost 100% of the time.

(sigh) No ... that's a bald-faced lie. What we have pointed out is that your observation in your lonely little part of the world is not fact for the rest of the country or even California, for that matter. In some jurisdictions (like mine) attendance IS nearly 100%. In others it is 75%+. Maybe in yours it is 50% ... could be ... it's pathetic and someone needs to look in to it, but I suppose it's possible.



- Carl

[TYRIS]

Fight the ticket. You have an excellent chance the officer will not show up for the trial. If he doesn't, you win, automatically. (Every time someone posts this advice, one of the cops on the board replies that they - the cops -ALWAYS show up for trials, almost 100% of the time. You can kind of understand why cops would want the public to believe that. Their actual attendance record is abysmal, below 50%.

-Please reference where you get your information. I've worked for three separate Agencies and in all of them you were required by the Policy Manual to show up for court...not to mention the fact that the judge could hold you in contempt for not showing up without a very good excuse. Also every Officer I know from other Agencies, which are quite a few, have the same Policies.

Some Officers do not show up for court, it happens, but below 50%? Doubtful. For me, its three hours of free overtime for maybe ten minutes of work regardless of whether or not I win or lose the case.

There is a good defense on radar tickets. Has to do with the "speed survey" mentioned by lwpat. Too complicated to explain it here.

What does the radar have to do with the speed survey? Your either challenging the use of the radar or your challenging the speed survey.

And it is not that complicated. The speed survey has to do with the estimated safe speed for a given roadway. If the speed survey is current there is not much you can do about it.

If your going to challenge the Officers use of the radar, that is another story.

The poster was cited for 22350 CVC: Unsafe speed for road conditions present. The Officer has to prove that the posters speed was unsafe. The poster has to prove that his speed was not unsafe for the conditions present.



Tyris